CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES (2013-2023)

2019

ECOCIDE
noun
destruction of the natural environment,
especially when deliberate.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES (2013-2023)

(Arson & Directed-Energy Warfare)

Thomas Porter

(Director, CAL FIRE, 2019-2021)

The Official Story

THOMAS PORTER
(Director, CAL FIRE, 2019-2021)

Article:
CAL FIRE DIRECTOR THOM PORTER ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT

Source: SF Chronicle – November 15, 2021

Cal Fire Director Thom Porter on Monday announced he would retire from the agency in December after three years leading the state through an unprecedented wildfire crisis.

Porter leads the $2.9 billion agency charged with safeguarding people and property amid one of the state’s most vexing crises exacerbated by drought and climate change.

Porter took the helm as acting director of Cal Fire in December 2018, just one month after the state’s most deadly and destructive wildfire, the Camp Fire, destroyed the town of Paradise and killed 85 people. In the years since, wildfires have burned across nearly 7.5 million acres in the state, shattering records for acres burned.

Gov. Gavin Newsom commended Porter in a written statement, thanking him for his decades-long service and his work to “tackle this existential threat head-on.”

“Chief Porter has seen the state through unprecedented wildfire challenges over the past three years, and Californians are fortunate to have had his steadfast leadership guiding our preparedness, response and recovery efforts,” Newsom said.

Porter’s last day will be Dec. 10. A Governor’s Office spokesperson said no information about a successor was available Monday.

California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot called the news “bittersweet,” in a tweet acknowledging Porter’s plan to retire.

“I can’t think of a tougher job in California and Thom brought focus, integrity and incredible perseverance and sense of purpose,” Crowfoot said. “An incredible leader in unprecedented times.”

Porter joined Cal Fire in 1999 after working as a forester with private industry in Washington, Oregon and in the Sierra Nevada.

With Cal Fire, Porter served as chief of the San Diego County Fire Authority, then headed up Cal Fire’s Southern Region. He served as chief of strategic planning in Sacramento before then-Gov. Jerry Brown designated Porter in December 2018 to serve as acting director of the agency with the retirement of former Director Ken Pimlott. Newsom appointed Porter as director in January 2019.

Source